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Black and Blue in Paris
2007-10-18 14:11:00
In my dreams, I waft about with the kind of luxe simplicity illustrated in this picture by The Sartorialist...well, a girl can dream can't she?The thing that I like about this lady's look in particular is that the potential over-the-top austerity, which is always present with this kind of outfit, is nicely subdued by the untamed hair and mismatched shoes. It's a "groomed look" for the scruffy...which means there is hope for me yet.
More About: Black , Blue , Paris

Do not adjust you sets...
2007-10-17 19:05:00
And speaking of eLuxury...while I was browsing their sale items I came across the Oprah cashmere crochet skirt from Calvin Klein. Which, naturally, raises the question...why would Calvin Klein name a skirt after Oprah? She certainly doesn't spring to mind when I think "fashion" and, at the original price of $1,625, the skirt is probably out of the price range of most of her demographic.Is this the beginning of a horrifying trend? Will we soon be lusting after the Dr. Phil blouse, Maury Povich legwarmers, or Jerry Springer twinset? Stay tuned...
More About: Sets , Adjust

"The salesman knows nothing of what he is selling save that he is charging
2007-10-17 13:17:00
Don't get me wrong...I love a good sale...but...does it seem like retailers are having a sale every other week at the moment? I must have received four or five sale e-mails in the last seven days. I guess it's safe to assume that people aren't spending as much in the current financial climate. Which leads to the question...should we buy things that are reduced now or hold out until the end of the season when, if the status quo remains the same, there should be the mother load of all sales?So many questions...for the time being I'll content myself with a little wishlist from eLuxury's current reductions. The plaid shirt is one of those "basics gone wild"...with Vegas lounge act ruffles on the front and a floral lining on the cuffs. The next item demands a little mea culpa as I never thought I'd like anything Juicy but (unless I'm sale-blind) this sweater dress would be a great layering piece. And the Peter Som belt is for those days when I'm feeling fickle...and brave e...
More About: Selling , Save , Charging , Salesman , Char

The Italian Job
2007-10-16 18:44:00
Not to make this sound like a fashion related therapy session but...Moschino always makes me think of my mother. During the 80's she had a slight passion for the label. Which means that I have quite a few pieces of clothing that I don't like to get rid of but can't quite figure out what to do with…if anyone has any suggestions for a pair of transparent, wide-legged palazzo pants patterned to look like a roulette table, let me know. With numerous designers' fixation with see-through trousers for next Spring/Summer I should be able to think of something but, to be honest, if I'm wearing trousers I generally like them to cover rather than reveal. And walking around looking like an advertisement for gambling doesn't really thrill me either. There's irony and there's "what are you wearing?".However, if you happen to like vintage Moschino…and didn't have a relation who mass bought it like a demented squirrel gathering nuts before a long winter...you may want to visit Yoo...
More About: Italian

So wrong it's...wrong
2007-10-16 13:14:00
Okay...seriously...would you buy shoes from this man? I realize that this picture was taken at the Neiman Marcus 100th anniversary celebration at the Texas State Fair but did Manolo Blahnik think it was fancy dress? And why does he look like an escapee from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum? Or one of those cut-outs that greet you at cheap restaurants?It's like a trainwreck...I want to look away, but I can't.
More About: Wrong

Should I stay or should I go?
2007-10-15 22:59:00
If you happen to know someone who is a bit of a butter-fingers when it comes to doing the washing up Tate Modern has the perfect gift...Glasgow artist David Shrigley's "Tell me when I am no longer needed and I shall go" teatowel. It's the red card of the kitchen. Were it not for the fact that the exchange rate would make this a $40 tea towel I would be ordering one right this second. As it is I shall have to comfort myself with Shrigley's photographs...in this case Easter Bunny, Ignore This Building, and (my personal favorite) Lost.
More About: Stay

"Investment must be rational; If you don't understand it, don't do it." -
2007-10-15 18:37:00
My investment strategy has always been more Carrie Bradshaw ("I like my money where I can see it...in my closet") than Warren Buffet. News that Prada is aiming for an IPO next year though may make me dip my toes into the more traditional speculative options. After all, a popular investment theory seems to be that you should invest in what you know...one glance at my closet tells me I know Prada, all too well. In fact, prior purchases will now be categorized as "investment research". And going forward, I will add this to my justification process. Yes, the ever popular "cost per wear" theory will be joined by the "but this is helping my portfolio" theory. Which means that the grey, elbow-length, ribbed, knitted gloves that I have been oggling when I walk past the Prada store now seem to be something that even Warren may approve of.
More About: Investment , Rational , Understand

Hell for leather?
2007-10-14 16:06:00
My Sunday morning troll through the virtual newspapers uncovered a generalization of such sweeping proportions that I dropped a bit of Pop Tart (hot chocolate with marshmallow flavor for those who are detail oriented). The piece in question, from The Guardian, suggested that "it is almost impossible to wear leather without looking like a has-been rock star" and that a leather bomber jacket, dress, tights, and ankle boots is "difficult to pull off if you are over 30". I must say, of all the leather options out there, some of them admittedly pretty dodgy, a bomber jacket seems one of the most wearable, regardless of age...though I admit that I'm probably biased regarding the bomber jacket as I love my H&M pleather version and, perhaps misguidedly, think it works with a lot of outfits.And, as far as the "has-been rockstar" issue...I think that both Queen Michelle and The Coveted have shown the lie to that statement...
More About: Hell , Leather

Phantom der Nacht
2007-10-14 15:22:00
Last night I had one of the best movie experiences I've partaken in in quite some time...a screening of the 1922 German Expressionist silent film, Nosferatu...accompanied live by the band Tortoise. Put simply, it was wonderful. The music meshed perfectly with the film...it was intense, moody, and added to the sense that the film's participants were inexorably being consumed by darkness.The only low point was that most of the audience seemed to regard the whole thing as a music show that happened to have a video accompanying it...which is particularly odd since the band were facing the screen, i.e. turned away from the audience. Is this the MTV effect? That the visual element, whatever it is, must be subservient to the music...a case of Eine Kleine Nach tmusik Uber Alles?
More About: Phantom

The Owl & the Pussycat went to sea...
2007-10-13 21:34:00
And I'm thinking that one of them was probably wearing a pair of Karen Walker's fingerless gloves while they did so. Cool and useful...if lost at sea you can signal to passing ships...
More About: Pussycat , The O , Puss , Went , Pussy

Heads you win, skulls you lose
2007-10-13 15:17:00
When I saw the detail shots from Jun Takahashi's Spring/Summer collection for Undercover my first thought was "craft project". The cut-out skulls and spiders...and the embroidered variations of the same...seemed to scream DIY. Which just goes to show how bad my hearing can be and that appearances can be very deceptive. In my version, the naiveté of Undercover's skull was transformed into pre-school...not quite what I was going for. The materials may have had something to do with it, the juxtaposition between the images and the richness of the fabrics do add a certain something...a je ne sais quoi that felt just does not provide.So, though it was initially going to be part of a necklace, I cut my losses when I saw how things were going. And now I have...an over-sized felt brooch (best case scenario)...a patch to add to a bag...a drinks' coaster (worst case scenario).
More About: Heads

As easy as ABC...as expensive as DEF
2007-10-12 22:46:00
A little more luggage lust...this time courtesy of Blog Sorbeta.On a Goyard related note...I recently learned that the fee for customization, i.e. the addition of your initials and some stripes to one of their bags is around $300. Now I understand the need to charge for this additional service, but doesn't this seem a little high...especially if you've just handed over a couple of thousand dollars for the bag itself? And does this lead to a sub-category of elitism? If you have the bag without the initials are you somehow less "worthy" than the person who coughed up the additional money to let the world know the bag is theirs? On a popular fashion forum I read that "the only reason to get Goyard is to have it customized"...shouldn't the reason to get a bag be because you love the bag itself?
More About: Easy